Transcript Unit 2: World Literature Sacred Texts and Epic

Unit 2: World Literature
Sacred Texts and Epic Tales
c. 1400 B.C. – A.D. 500
Focus Questions
1
• Which religions began on the Indian
subcontinent?
The classics of ancient Indian epic poetry
were part of what religious tradition?
2
• In what ways is Hinduism a social system?
• What was a caste in traditional Hinduism?
• What were the functions of various castes
in traditional Hinduism?
3
• List two or more achievements of Indian
painters, sculptors, and architects.
• What role did Buddhist monks play in the
creation of cave art?
4
• In what ways is the concept of memory
important to the literature of India?
• What was the traditional way of studying a
subject in ancient India?
• Why were the scholars of ancient India
wary of written versions of texts?
Names and Terms to
Know
Indus Valley
Aryans
Dravidians
Hinduism
Buddhism
Jainism
Sanskrit
Sikh
Vocabulary
Rig Veda: Creation Hymn
• Immortality
• Distinguishing
• Stems
• Palpable
Mahabharata, Bhagavad-Gita,
Ramayana
• Mitigated
• Caricature
• Scruples
• Pervades
• Manifested
• Dispel
• Invoked
• Pristine
Panchantantra
• Obsequiously
• Rank
• Elixir
• Accrue
• Tardily
• Reprobate
• Extirpate
• Skulks
Literary Terms
Wisdom Literature: types & examples
MYTH
An anonymous tale
that explains the actions of
Gods or the causes of natural
phenomena
The Rig Veda pg 180
Ovid’s Metomorphoses
Mahabharata pg 192
Pg 550
FABLE
Brief story that teaches
A moral or practical
Lesson about life and usually features
ANIMAL characters
Sa’di’s Gulistan
pg 106
The Panchantantra
Pg 222
Jean de LaFontain’s
Fables
PARaBLE
Brief story that teaches
A moral or practical
Lesson about life and usually features
HUMAN characters
Jesus’ parables in the
New Testament
Zen Parables
Pg 320
Proverb, Maxim, Aphorism
A wise saying that offers
Practical wisdom about life.
Such sayings are often
Included in larger works.
African Proverbs
Pg 130
Sa’di’s Manners of Kings Confusious Analects
Pg 106
Pg 268
Sacred Texts:
Philosophical/spiritual
Teaches moral conduct
Or explores questions
About the meaning of life.
Lao Tzu’s Tao Te Ching
Pg 266
The Upanishads
Pg 188
The Rig Veda
Pg 180
Vedic Hymn
• A hymn is a poem or song of praise. Vedic
Hymns emphasize the importance of gods
and nature in Indian life and ponder
timeless questions, such as the origin of
the universe.
• Originally meant to be chanted.
• Passed down by word of mouth.
• Reflect a sense of awe toward nature.
Features of Wisdom
Literature
Aphoristic Style

Aphorism: a brief, memorable, and often
witty saying that expresses a truth about
life – as in a proverb or the moral at the
end of a fable.
Figurative Language and
Symbolism
Language not meant to be understood
literally. It expresses an imaginative
connection.
 Symbol: an object, a person, a thing, and
animal, an image, that represents both
itself and something larger in meaning –
usually an abstract idea.

Allegory

A literary work with two levels of meaning.
Every element has both a literal and a
symbolic meaning, with specific characters
standing for abstract qualities. Fables and
parables are considered types of allegory.
Didactic in purpose

It is meant to teach a moral or ethical
lesson about life. This lesson may be
taught directly, as in a fable, or indirectly,
as in a parable, in which the moral is not
explicitly stated.